Dozens of readers shared photos of meals they enjoyed on their summer travels. We’ve been running the best over the last few weeks, and conclude here with the best of the best.

Each entry in our What I Ate on My Summer Vacation contest was judged based on the quality of the photograph, the visual appeal of the food (delicious and/or distinctive) and the story that came across, either in the photo itself or in the caption information.

Carissa Wong, who traveled across the country with her dog Lulu, made everyone laugh with her image of Lulu sampling the sundaes at Ghirardelli in San Francisco. Wong also submitted photos of Lulu in New Orleans, New York and at an In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Mather’s shot from Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco showcased a muffin with a soft-boiled egg baked in the center. “How do they do it? It’s still a mystery,” he wrote. He also staged his shot so it seems the muffin is staring at us.

Wong and Mather will receive $50 gift cards to Chef Chai, so that they may continue their dining/photography adventures closer to home.

THESE ENTRIES finished out of the money, but deserve recognition for the spirit of eating adventure that they represent.

Marianette Kauahikaua’s image clearly shows the diners’ delight in their whole fried Elephant Ear Fish, served at a home in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. It’s about as big as their two heads together.

Joe Wu found super-fresh sea urchin, served in its shell, at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia. Also, about as big as his head.

Kelli Kokame’s shot of a gingerbread cookie from Cesky Pernik, a bakery in the town of Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, is like many Instagram photos designed to provide a sense of place as well as a sense of yum. Kokame’s picture is perfectly focused and framed to show each dot of icing while capturing the character of the bakery in the background.

TOP STORY: CHUCK FEINBERG

The photo is a little fuzzy, but the sentiment is clear in this entry from Chuck Feinberg.

This dish is also the only one out of all the entries we received that was cooked at home, or in this case in a home-away-from-home, in Paris. Feinberg’s entry is our choice for the best vacation food story:

“Quail 50 is a dish my wife, Julie Feinberg, created to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in Paris , on Aug. 24. We’ve been renting an apartment in Paris for many years on Ile Saint-Louis. … The apartment has a very good kitchen so we always spend a lot of time going to some of the most amazing street markets in Paris.

“The quail came from a superb butcher right near our apartment. The rest of the ingredients came from other assorted places in Paris. Julie served this dish on our lanai overlooking the Seine river.

“Quail 50: Fresh quail from the butcher. Excellent black truffles. The quail deboned by me and the legs confitted by Julie. The homemade stock used the saved bones, etc., from the quail plus onion and carrots.”